Questions tagged [sentence-patterns]
Questions relating to the pattern of words in a sentence.
379
questions
92
votes
1
answer
5k
views
Is there a name for this type of sentence structure: "She looks as though she's been poured into her clothes, and forgot to say 'when'"?
Comedians seem to use phrases that employ this type of sentence structure - is there a name for it?
Examples of Groucho Marx's one liners seem to fit this pattern — and if memory serves, Emo Philips. ...
user5531
73
votes
8
answers
255k
views
How do you handle "that that"? The double "that" problem
Have you ever had a case where you felt compelled to include strange things like a double that in a sentence? If so, then what did you do to resolve this?
For me, I never knew whether it was ...
- 1,415
33
votes
19
answers
41k
views
Is there a sentence that begins with “them”?
An online retail store is asking its customers to construct a sentence beginning with them in order to win a voucher. I just can't believe there's any such sentence, at least I don't know of any!
I'...
- 1,556
33
votes
17
answers
27k
views
Framing a question whose answer is an ordinal number
I am the third daughter (or son) of my parents.
OR
I am the third child of my parents
How should a question that is answered with the above sentences be framed?
- 565
28
votes
3
answers
6k
views
What is the term for a sentence which reads same forwards and backwards?
Please note, I'm not asking for a palindrome. I mean to say that only the word order is rearranged, not the actual spelling of the word. An example might be as follows:
First ladies rule the ...
- 2,732
23
votes
7
answers
47k
views
Grammar: "Just because A, doesn't mean B"
I hear this all the time, and often from writers, but it never sounds right. I found myself using it in something I was writing.
For example: "Just because I stopped eating doesn't mean I'm full.&...
Pilcrow
20
votes
6
answers
14k
views
Sentence Construction: "Just Because ...... Does Not Mean"
I've already found an entry on this here.
However, it does not solve my problem:
I just read an entry on "cross platform" from Wikipedia, in which it wrote:
Just because a particular operating ...
- 10.1k
19
votes
6
answers
30k
views
Is there an online sample sentence database or search engine?
Sometime, I am not sure if I use a specific word correctly. I would like to get some sample sentences to learn from.
So, is there a online sample sentence database/search engine?
17
votes
2
answers
3k
views
"Some champagne for my real friends, some real pain for my sham friends."
Some champagne for my real friend, some real pain for my sham friends."
Is there a name for this kind of sentence?
Note: I'm not sure the origin of this, but it is a line in Spike Lee's movie, 25th ...
- 1,122
16
votes
3
answers
5k
views
Through a Glass, Clearly / A Scanner Darkly / In a Mirror, Darkly / etc
I've seen a pattern in a couple of titles.
Asimov has a book called "Through a Glass, Clearly".
Philip Dick wrote "A Scanner Darkly".
Star Trek has the episode "In a Mirror, Darkly"
Agatha Christy ...
- 1,123
14
votes
3
answers
116k
views
Can a sentence starting with "While, ..." be grammatically correct?
I have a colleague who often writes sentences in the form "While, [these circumstances would make X seem unlikely to be the case], [these other circumstances show that X is in fact the case].
For ...
user4883
13
votes
1
answer
93k
views
Starting a sentence with "rather"
I've sometimes heard people use rather for connecting two sentences where the second one sets counterexample to something negated in the first.
This is not a meaningful sentence. Rather, it's an ...
- 497
11
votes
4
answers
1k
views
What is the word that denotes the words preceding these nouns?
What word describes/denotes the words that precede vision in the following two words: computer vision and machine vision?
- 527
10
votes
3
answers
2k
views
A phrase as an interjection
Often in spoken English, I see one sentence or phrase "set up" another much like an interjection. For example:
I forgot to ask. Did you find that book I told you about?
How do you generally ...
- 3,444
10
votes
3
answers
24k
views
Why is it “I better not (+verb)” instead of “I better don’t (+verb)”?
This question will seem weird to a native speaker because “I better don’t” sounds inherently wrong and unusual. But if you think about it, it’s an irregularity; normally when a verb is negated and ...
- 1,259
10
votes
4
answers
240
views
"The program is functional, fast, and finds a solution..."
This triple appears wrong to me:
The demonstrations show that
program A is functional, fast, and finds a
solution that program B misses.
Because functional and fast are adjectives and both ...
- 627
10
votes
2
answers
1k
views
avoid the slash?
Should the slash be avoided?
For example every week/day in my head is translated to every week or day. I think I started using slashes because I saw them used in forums and in articles.
Is using ...
- 978
9
votes
2
answers
136k
views
The phrase "let alone"
I notice that "let alone" is used in sentences that have a comma. The structure of the sentence is what comes before the comma is some kind of negative statement. Right after the comma is "let alone," ...
- 5,768
9
votes
3
answers
32k
views
What is the correct usage of "the question of ..."
I am currently writing my thesis, which addresses the question of how to do X. However, I am not sure whether the usage of "the question of ..." is correct. I found the following expressions while ...
- 283
8
votes
5
answers
4k
views
“She left me for another woman” or “She left me for a woman”?
Assuming a male speaker is referring to an ex-partner, which of the following is more correct?
She left me for another woman
She left me for a woman
The phrase She left me for another ...
- 8,174
8
votes
3
answers
88k
views
Using "though" at the beginning of the following sentence
But during the trip, she hardly spoke with him. In fact, she hardly spoke with anyone in the group. She would just follow us quietly to whereever we went, like a little
stray cat. Though she spent ...
- 13.2k
8
votes
4
answers
109k
views
"I am going to attend" vs "I am attending"
Which of these two statements seems to be more appropriate?
I am attending a meeting tomorrow.
I am going to attend a meeting tomorrow.
I am quite not sure which one to use.
- 473
8
votes
3
answers
2k
views
Why is there no form of "do" in questions of the type "who knows?"
I'm wondering whether expressions like the ones below are correct or not. I've seen them several times but they don't seem to follow the typical grammatical structure.
Who comes? (instead of who ...
- 1,181
8
votes
3
answers
1k
views
Use of “well” to signal a pseudo-awkward pause before an impending word repetition or pun
In an article titled “The Ice Age Cometh” (Fortune, May 25, 1998, reprinted in The Great Unraveling, 2003), Paul Krugman writes:
Suppose that two tribes—the Clan of the Cave Bear and its neighbor, ...
- 166k
7
votes
3
answers
16k
views
When is "will" used in an "if" clause?
Given the following sentences that use will in the if clause (which is seldom with if-clauses and therefore, I'm not sure they all are even grammatical or not).
If you will/would kindly lend me ...
- 927
7
votes
4
answers
40k
views
An error message should display or should 'be' displayed?
If the writer means to say that an error message should 'appear' can he phrase the sentence as 'When user clicks the button, an error message should display' or is it more correct to say 'When user ...
- 2,245
7
votes
3
answers
6k
views
Is 'I would rather...' without an infinitive immediately following it correct?
Consider:
I would rather the walls remain painted in a neutral tint.
Is this proper use of 'I would rather..', without an infinitive immediately following it?
EDIT This suggests that 'I would ...
- 1,603
7
votes
2
answers
943
views
Is there a name for this type of sentence: "The higher the temperature, the higher the pressure"? [duplicate]
Is there a name for this type of sentence: "The higher the temperature, the higher the pressure"?
Such a word grouping is generally accepted as a sentence in science.
- 71
7
votes
2
answers
3k
views
Dissecting an English sentence using a pattern
I am trying to make a script that can dissect an English sentence.
The problem is, I have no idea how to dissect an English sentence when the words are not familiar. I know what the nouns, verbs, etc ...
- 173
6
votes
1
answer
2k
views
How is “The Stars My Destination” a grammatically correct title/sentence?
It's a bit of a niche question, but I've always wondered how the title of Alfred Bester's 1956 novel is at all grammatically correct. I feel like it teeters on being grammatically sufficient, but isn'...
- 77
6
votes
5
answers
7k
views
Punctuation in a sentence "from A or B to C and even D"
Is there a need for punctuation in the following sentence: "Response time has reduced from weeks or days to hours and even minutes in some cases."
More generally, how should one use punctuation in a ...
6
votes
3
answers
17k
views
Meaning of "it's long past time to ..."
Saw a lot of such sentences (examples below). What does the "it's long past time to..." mean?
Example:
It's long past time to ditch the use of the ubiquitous bulleted-list templates found in both ...
- 255
5
votes
3
answers
402
views
Does this sentence require the pronoun 'they'?
I have the following sentence:
There were several dominoes—some so precariously placed that I'd
swear should have toppled over.
I believe it's correct, but when read quickly or out loud, ...
- 329
5
votes
1
answer
1k
views
how many conditional sentence types are possible?
I wonder how many conditional sentence types are possible. Basically, there are four main and two mixed types. By mixing tenses, it could be up to nine of them. Are the rest viable?
I came across the ...
5
votes
4
answers
4k
views
This book reads easily vs this book is reading easily
We heard our English professor, who is from the UK, say the following:
I have read this book.
This book reads easily.
I have seen a few fellow-students replicating the above-mentioned ...
- 203
5
votes
3
answers
832
views
Enjoys his fair share to work hard and smart to meet commitments
Received a resume lately. One of the sentence, in summary section, doesn't look right to me. It may be not a very obvious mistake, or may not be a mistake at all. But I can't say anything for sure, as ...
- 165
5
votes
2
answers
3k
views
Double meaning?
Taken from "A Quiver Full of Arrows":
"The flowers have lasted well," she
teased, and left him to make the
coffee.
Does the sentence clearly imply that she left to make the coffee? Or could it ...
user1784
5
votes
2
answers
273
views
Can "But!" be a sentence?
From Dune by Frank Herbert:
"I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that
brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me
and ...
- 53
5
votes
2
answers
12k
views
Inversion in "Only when the virus introduces its nucleic acid into a cell does disease occur"
Given this sentence,
Disease occurs only when the virus introduces its nucleic acid into a cell.
Is the following inversion grammatical?
→ Only when the virus introduces its nucleic acid into ...
- 189
5
votes
4
answers
547
views
Reverse relationship of Belong?
Consider the phrase:
"That shovel belongs to Tim." which when you reverse the subject becomes:
"Tim owns that shovel"
However there is another use of belong, which means membership of.
"Susan ...
- 2,431
5
votes
1
answer
138
views
Is there a word in English for this particular type of humourous use of a word twice
An employee is hauled before a manager for allegedly calling a foreman a bastard. He replied:
"I never called him a bastard, the bastard."
- 91
5
votes
2
answers
10k
views
"Subject, verb, direct object, object complement" versus "subject, verb, indirect object, direct object"
Reading English Grammar (HarperCollins College Outline, published by HarperResource, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers) I found a chapter (Sentence Basics) that explains that in English there are ...
- 59.4k
5
votes
1
answer
434
views
Writing and speaking duplicated words
A recent workplace conversation prompted this question. Red Hat, the software company behind a popular Linux distribution, came by the office and everyone got some random trinkets, including a number ...
- 425
4
votes
4
answers
7k
views
Asking somebody to select between two or more options
Assume we want to ask somebody to choose between two options. Each option is a phrase like "stay home" or "come with me". What is the correct form of asking such questions?
Do you want to stay ...
- 761
4
votes
1
answer
7k
views
an "X is an X is an X" what does this mean?
I am reading https://openparliament.ca/bills/42-1/C-6/ (I must say, with great delight but that's not relevant) and
Canadian is a Canadian is a Canadian
A citizen is a citizen is a citizen.
I do not ...
- 791
4
votes
2
answers
19k
views
The correct usage of "too" and "also"
I always have problems in deciding whether to use "too" or "also". For example, if the previous sentence is:
Peter ate the cake.
Which of the following should I say?:
He ate the pie too.
He also ...
- 1,244
4
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Loudly is Complement or adverb/adjunct in the sentence The cat / scratched / loudly
Loudly is mentioned as Complement when it is actually an adverb or adjunct in the site, http://changingminds.org/techniques/language/syntax/clause_arrangement.htm . Is it right or wrong?
I have given ...
- 431
4
votes
3
answers
936
views
If I write two phrasal verbs with difference prepositions consecutively, can I omit the first preposition?
Give or take away something from someone.
The problem in this sentence is that normally one would say "Give to" or "take away from" someone, but what should I write when I want to refer to both ...
- 257
4
votes
2
answers
472
views
What's the syntactic explanation in "Mistakes are likely to happen":
I'm confused about this sentence construction:
Mistakes are likely to happen.
I’ve thought of three possible explanations; are any of them
correct?
Where likely is an adjective act...
- 63
4
votes
2
answers
4k
views
What are the meanings of the sentences where "Not that" is followed by an object-missing expression?
According to my observation, there are at least two types of using "Not that....". And my question is: what does "not that" mean in its second type of usage?
In the first usage, "not that" is ...
- 255